Alnea paused, and glanced down at his feet, firm and stable on the ground, before turning back towards the depths of the forest. Towards the fading blood red light. The last vestige of the sudden change that had descended on the forest. One that did not last for long. Just like the quakes, that had dwindled off in just a few minutes, leaving behind an eerie silence in their wake. A silence that reminded him of beasts watching their prey…

  “…What—

  Alnea turned towards Ralph, bringing a finger to his lips, signalling him to keep quiet, as he unfurled his Spirit, observing the changes around them. Not obvious changes, like the movements in the trees and fog, but subtle changes, like the vibration of the ground under their feet, the fluctuation in Mysteries comprising the forest, and the breath of the forest itself. The breath of balance… of order… of chaos—

  “Prepare yourselves,” Alnea said, almost in a whisper, as he brought his hands to the hilt of his sword, urging his Aspects gather around his feet and sword, while staring back at the silence. “Here it comes.”

  “…What? Where? I don’t see anyon—

  Golden light flashed through the air, with a hint of black mixed around its edges, as Alnea stepped out of the confines of Fran’s shield, unsheathing his sword while he was at it, ‘Raising the Earth’ like a wall, clashing against blood red light that tore through the forest, barely stopping it in its tracks. That too, only because he also urged the Blood Crystals flowing through his veins while also calling forth on his Aspects to Protect.

  Yet, even with all his preparations, Alnea still felt his hands go numb. Then again, just the aftermath of his clash with the red light was enough to send all the loose mud around them flying in the air. Even the shield that Fran had prepared, the temporary one, failed to withstand the impact. And that was when the shield was at least more than a metre away from the clash.

  Thankfully, that metre was enough to let the shield last four a few moments longer, giving Fran enough time to deploy the second shied he had prepared, before he quickly began preparing the third shield. Though it was not just Fran who jumped into action. Facing the sudden attack, all the Star Seekers, even those who had failed to notice the red light in time, moved at once, just not towards the same goal.

  As a team, everyone had their own roles to fulfil. Aren, for instance, began casting an Arcana to force out the enemies hiding in their immediate vicinity, as Ralph prepared a Glyph to stun their enemies, while Zain prepared a shield to support their vanguard. Karl, on the other hand, moved towards the centre of their formation, ready to defend their back line, a role that was supposed to be fulfilled by Fran, but had fallen on his head after repeated mistakes by the latter.

  Meanwhile, following the lead of their Captain, the girls also stepped out of Fran’s shield, each facing a different direction. And just a moment after Alnea blocked the red light’s advance, all three of them were met with a similar attack. A large indistinguishable mass of blood red light that circled around the Star Seekers, attacking them from all four directions, even their rear, aiming to pierce through their defences. In vain.

  Sensing the threat coming their way, the girls burst forth with all their strength, calling upon both, their Aspects, and the Concepts they held. It was just that the Concepts hiding within the Hearts of the girls was different, so the way they clashed with the blood red light was also a little different. But the end result was the same.

  Cecilia, shining in the greenish black light of Sharpness, Charged through the blood red light coming at the Star Seekers from their left, while Yuri, carrying the bluish white light of Hope, Endured the light coming from their right. Vestia, on the other hand, Flowing in greenish blue light of her Aspects, fought against the Flow of the blood red light raining down upon the Star Seekers from their rear, pushing it all back into the depths of the forest.

  Yet, just like their Captain, despite using most of the strength they could muster in the fraction of a moment they had, the girls were also not spared from suffering numb hands. Rather, unlike Alnea, who also had the help of hundreds of Advanced Stage Blood Crystals, all of Transcendent Grade, the girls had only some tens of Blood Crystals, that too of just the Perfect Grade. Only Vestia had a slightly higher number and quality of Blood Crystals, but the difference was not enough to make much difference.

  In the end, all three of them were pushed back by the blood red light, forcing them to dig their toes into the ground. Even then, it was only when they reached the edge of Fran’s shield that they stopped the light. But that was not enough to dampen their morale. On the contrary, being forced back only served to fuel their courage. Calling forth even more Aspects from their Spirit World, shining in the light of their Concepts, they prepared themselves for a second clash—

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  “…What’s happening?” Cecilia said, staring blankly at the blood red light, that had almost broken past her, dissipating into the fog, before cursing out. “Poros’ tail! Where did these bastards go?”

  “…That’s what I would like to know,” Vestia mumbled, staring solemnly at the fading red light, disintegrating into smaller wisps with each passing moment, soon becoming smaller than a finger and thinner than a nail, almost like bloody tendrils of hair. “These lights…”

  “Stop hiding, and show yourselves, cowards!”

  “…They might not exactly be hiding,” Yuri said, prompting the rest of the Star Seekers to glance at her, while still maintaining their vigilance. “At least I cannot find any traces of other Wanderers in a thousand metres around us.”

  “…That just shows how cowardly these bastards are,” Cecilia said, gnashing her teeth, a sentiment shared by the cat growling next to her feet. “You rats! I know you are there, listening to everything I am saying. Stop hiding, and fight us like Wanderers. Like Warriors. Or I will just blast the entire forest into the skies, and then you will never be able to complete whatever mission your bastard patron has sent you on. That’s why you are here, right? To complete the mission of your Heterodoxy? Come out now, or I will really just blow up the forest.”

  “…Stop shouting,” Vestia said after a moment of silence, before withdrawing most of her Aspects back into her Spirit World. “No one is going to answer you.”

  “Then what do you suggest we do?” Cecilia said, snapping at Vestia. “Just stand still, and let them attack us as they wish?”

  “…How can someone attack us, if they are not even there around us?” Vestia said, as she glanced towards the depths of the forest, towards the direction where the blood red light had originated from. “Unless they cast a similar ritual…”

  “…What are you saying?”

  “Like Yuri said, there are no traces of Wanderers around us,” Vestia said, turning towards Cecilia. “That’s because there never were any Wanderers around us in the first place.”

  “Then what were we fighting against?”

  “…The Dark Priests’ ritual—

  Vestia paused, glancing towards the wisps of red light, dyeing the fog in their shade, with wide eyes, before turning towards Yuri, only to find her looking at Alnea with a similar expression, just as he was glanced back at them with a solemn face. Even Karl had turned solemn as he listened to the conversation of the girls. Though it looked as if he had yet to grasp the gravity of their situation. Still, at least he read some clues, and glanced at the wisps of red light scattering into the fog, surrounding them from all four sides.

  “Vestia!” Alnea said, as he rushed towards the wisps of red light, urging his Aspects to wrap his sword in the red light of Slaughter. “Scatter the fog!”

  “…On it,” Vestia said, closing her eyes, and reaching out to the Mysteries in her Domain, not even bothering to recall the Aspects still circling around her legs. Though it was not just her who was in a hurry.

  “Protect Vestia,” Yuri said to Karl, as she rushed towards the wisps of red light scattered around her, as did Cecilia on her side, moving instinctively, even when she did know why they were so wary of the wisps. Still, from the way that Alnea and Yuri moved, even asking Vestia to use her Arcana, she understood that they had to stop the scattered red light from surrounding them completely, and that was enough. Charging through the fog, she aimed her claws, Sharp as her Heart, at the—

  The wisps of the red light—No, it was not just the wisps. At some point, those small wisps, thin like hair, dyeing the fog in a bloody light, had assimilated the fog within themselves, giving it more than just their colour. They gave it a substance, and a purpose. And though they seemed to have lost the strength with which they had first attacked the Star Seekers, what they had left was enough to give the fog the means to fulfil its purpose.

  “…I am sorry, Alnea,” Vestia said, opening her eyes, and confirming her guess. No matter where she looked, be it to their sides, or above their heads, all she saw was a layer of blood red fog blocking their vision. “There is a stronger Mystery in the fog blocking my control.”

  “…It’s not your fault,” Alnea said, regaining his balance, and putting his sword back into its sheath. “Maybe if we had not wasted time… But after being assimilated by that bloody light, not even True Wanderers should be able to wrest control of the fog before the effects of the ritual wears out.”

  “…That’s still my fault. If I had not wasted time talking… If I had realised it sooner…”

  “That’s not just your fault,” Yuri said, shaking her head. “Everyone has a share.”

  “…That’s right,” Cecilia said. “If I had not distracted everyone…”

  “No, it’s my fault. If my shield had been strong enough to withstand those attacks…”

  “…If only I had noticed the attack…”

  “If I—

  “Shut up!” Alnea said, glancing at his teammates with a frown. He had expected Fran and Ralph to react violently, but for the rest to be just as pessimistic… even Vestia and Cecilia…

  “…But—

  “Stop talking and quickly regain your Serenity,” Yuri said, glancing solemnly at the Star Seekers. “Don’t let the fog affect your Heart.”

  Fortunately, he could still count on Yuri. Then again, the influence of the fog was indeed not strong enough to stain a Clear Heart, not even one that had only recently attained its Clarity. It never stood a chance against Yuri. But the rest of the Star Seekers… Alnea let out a sigh, as he saw his teammates turning pale at Yuri’s words, and close their eyes to meditate, before glancing at the bloody fog surrounding his team.

  “Things are going to get troublesome…”